1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time (I used TJ's brown rice fusilli)

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart or larger crockpot, or cut the recipe in half. This makes a lot.

Brown the meat on the stovetop, and drain well. Let it cool a bit.

Chop up the carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crockpot.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and Tobasco sauce. Stir in your meat.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.

Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender.It will swell quite a bit.

Serve with a bit of parmesan cheese if you have it.

The Verdict.

Delicious. Amazing. This is a very filling soup, and a great warm-me-up on a chilly evening. The ingredients are everything you'd put in a traditional minestrone, but that bit of Tobasco sauce changes the flavor dramatically.Very yummy. One kid ate a bowl, and the other one fell asleep before dinner. I wasn't about to wake her.

Breezy, I know. I totally stink at following my own rules. I have stuff in the house for a milk chocolate marshmallow fondue, so I'll make that today and post tomorrow. You can still make it for football! and I bet you can use 3 Muskateer bars from Halloween!

I'm a new reader, I noticed your recieps say gluten free products. If this a personal preference or do you find it works better in the crockpot cooking? I have currently have a small slowcooker but have a programmable crockpot on my Christmas wishlist...is there one you recommend. I am able to go home a lunch and set it to cook, but would prefer not too on the cold and windy days.

I love Pasta Fagioli so will have to try this recipe. Early this week I followed your recipe for crockpot black beans in my 4 quart cooker. They were great. We had black beans and rice and crockpot chicken and vegetables. The next day more chicken, and, with more broth and tomatoes, for 2 more days chicken soup. I've been making applesause using 2-4 varieties of apples (always a couple of Granny Smith) and it is wonderful. Thank you for the recipe. Using the homemade applesause one can make a desert that we loved as kids. You need only the applesause and cinnamon graham crackers. Arrange a layer of crackers in a square or oblong baking dish, followed by a layer of applesause, followed by another layer of crackers and another layer of applesause, and again...until you reach the top which is a layer of applesause. Chill for a few hours until you can cut the "Applesause Cake" easily with a knife. Top with whipped cream. Yum/

Stephanie! Do you even GET how cute you are?!OMG, it's wonderful! everybody, make sure you listen therough the car commercial ad---there's a LOT of audio/video there!I can't believe we get to witness you getting famous right in front of us!

Who knew that crockpotting could lead to such fame. This makes me REALLY want to stick to my New Years resolution. So do you have some huge celebration planned for when you finally reach the year mark?

i was expecting to see a fondue recipe, but i'm glad i see the soup. it looks delicious!!!

i wish i was going trick or treating. i hope you and your kids have a great time! i can't wait to see what kind of stuff you come up with for the loads of extra halloween candy. maybe something like... "20 types of candy fondue" in the crockpot? haha

Oh, that looks really good! I was just complaining b/c I have a LOT of ground beef left from our beef from last season. I'm always looking for a good, tasty way to use ground beef! Thanks so much! Karen

I just watched your news clip...you have the most beautiful family! I am so sad to see the year coming closer to the end. Visiting your blog has become part of my daily routine! This soup looks great and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what kind of Thanksgiving meal you're going to come up with in the crockpot!

So does the 1 T of Tabasco give it a hotness? I would think it would but you said one of your kids ate it so maybe not. I'm afraid of hot and spicy so I'd love to know before I make it. Also, do you think it would matter if I used ground turkey instead of the hamb? Your recipes are incredible!!! Every one you have rated high, we have loved!!

I made this on Halloween night and it was delicious. Of course, I tweaked it to what was in our house at the time and left out celery ('cause my husband doesn't like it) and it was so good. Thanks for all the easy fun recipes that take the work out of cooking. It was great for a colder evening of trick-or-treating.

I made this on Halloween.http://sunflowermama.blogspot.com/2008/10/happy-all-hallows-eve.html However, I'm pregnant, wanted it that night and didn't read the recipe until 4pm. So I cheated and used the stove. VERY good!! Also, if you accidently use an entire bag of rice noodles, (I'm gluten free too.) it becomes a nice casserole for next days' lunch. ;)THANK YOU for all the amazing crock-pot recipes!

We had this last night and it was soooo yummy!! it filled my 5 qt almost to the top, so i decided to invite my parents over for dinner, knowing there would be NO way to eat it all!! It was enjoyed by all!! I was a bit skeptical about that much Tabasco, (im a mild salsa type girl) but it was not too much. I sent some with my husband for work today and he said "oh I don't need that much - it is VERY filling" Definately gonna keep this recipe :)

My verdict, very good, the 2yr didn't eat it like I thought he would, he ate maybe 5 beans and called it quits. I also cooked on stove for almost 2 hours to soften the veggies. I was out of onions, so when browning ground beef I used Liptons onion soup packet, then drained off the fat, the meat still had good flavor. I am trying to control salt so I know that's very salty and wasn't worried about losing some of the soup mix. I was also out of beef broth and didn't use chicken broth either and was very tasty. Hubby brings to work in his thermos..I did up the amount of water and was perfect..Stephanie, you rock, will miss your daily entries but I know all good things must come to an end, I have already pre-purchased your book, I really need help in organization (more than cooking);)

I found this site through another one, and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!! We have already pulled out a package of pork ribs so we can make the McCain ribs tomorrow for dinner, and tonight, we had this soup. WOW! Great soup!

Both of us are huge Italian fans, but I have not been able to find a good Minestrone soup yet. This one was perfect. We don't have any Tabasco sauce, so we had to leave that out (I will definitely put it in next time - I would love just a little kick) but other than that, made it as listed. Also next time, we're going to get some French Bread so we can dip that in the soup as we eat. YUM!

Thanks for the great recipes, and all of the info. I am in love with your site, and have already added it to my blogroll on my Nonfiction Book Review site. When your book comes out, I shall have to review it on my site. ;-)

I made this last night and it is so fabulous! My husband even loved it and he hates onions. It has a great flavor and is very comforting. We put a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese on top (not very Italian) and it made it that much more rich. Thanks!

Thank you for a wonderful recipe. It was delicious. I did make one change..instead of 1/2 cup dry pasta, I added one package of spinach and cheese tortellini. That put it over the top!!!!! Thanks again

Made this and it was FANTASTIC! I had leftover roast I used instead of the ground beef. The tabasco adds a nice spice to the soup. My hubby and I fought over who got the last bowl. LOL. Thanks for another great recipe

I made this last night. Though it may be blasphemous, I opted not to use the crockpot. I only needed it to take a couple of hours and, since I needed to use the stove to brown the meat anyway, I stuck with it.

I made a half batch and a couple alterations (e.g., used cheese tortellini) based on what was in my pantry. It was delicious! I've never had the Olive Garden version but, as long as this was based on their recipe, I went with the theme. I made an Olive Garden style salad to go along with the soup. My hubby did ask why I didn't make the yummy garlic breadsticks too :)

This was the BEST healthy soup (as well as the best tomato-based soup) I've ever had!

Thanks a bunch! I look forward to my Crockpot Lady emails every night.

This was delish! I liked the slight kick offered by the tobasco sauce. It does make it special. I'm sure it would be great without it (for those who don't like the extra kick.) I was surprised to see an Italian dish with no garlic. I was too chicken to mess with Steph's perfection. If anyone adds garlic, let us know how it was. Thanks for a great recipe, Steph!

I am making this for the SECOND time in 2 weeks-we love it! I dont like beef in my soup so I dont use any meat. And I do a little over 1 full cup of pasta to mine, so its makes it a little less soupy, but hubby and I love it that way-YUM YUM!!!~Anna

I absolutely love what you are doing! I have tried a number of your recipes and only stumbled upon your blog within the last month. I am also ADDICTED to my crockpot. I tried this recipe last night and it's delicious. I toasted a baguette, rubbed some garlic on it and sprinkled with parmeasan cheese, put back in the oven and had that with my soup. The verdict is yummy!!

Yummie yummie yummie. I made this for Soup's On. I have a pot of soup on the stove (read: crock plugged in!) and people drop by. It's an open house for soup. It got high marks and was so very yummie. This particular Soup's On was dubbed 'tomatopalooza' because I couldn't choose which soup to make so I made four. The menu included: Pasta Fagioli, Pizza, Meatball Ministrone, & Pot Luck Pasta soups. Yum! Thank you for keeping your recipies posted... I hope/pray they never disappear! :)

This is the best soup ever. My husband got quite angry when I called it Olive Garden soup, and now refers to it as "Ronica Garden" soup. :) (I told him it was yours, but he still gives me the credit. Smart man!) The first time I made it, he ate 3 bowls before I shooed him away from the crock.

I'm going to try a vegetarian version, because I have 25 students to cook for soon, and some are veg. I'm experimenting with what I have in the house today to see if it is still as good. (I'll use chicken broth, but I'm the guinea pig, so it's OK.) I'll let you know how it comes out. Thanks so much for this one! It's a HUGE hit at our house! (My 2 year old loves it, too!)

It felt so good to serve this soup to my family! My 13 mos old daughter (who usually has a hard time chewing anything harder than a pea) LOVED this soup! We had fresh broccoli and kale so I added that. It just added to the healthy quotient. My hubby added chopped raw onions, & hot chili sauce for a more "grown up" version, and ate two heaping bowls! Another hit recipe. Thanks so much! Makes delicious leftovers too :)

THis was so, so great. I have a 2 year old who does not do spicy, so I used half the Tabasco, and that was perfect for him. We also used cheese tortellini instead of dried pasta-- please do that as well! Out of this world. Thanks!

Made this tonight (in the new, super-awesome 6qt. crock I got for Christmas to replace my 4qt) and YUM! It was every bit as amazing as you said it would be! Makes a ton, so I boiled the pasta separately - going to freeze some of the leftovers, and can add in pasta later. One change I made was that I used ground turkey breast, and I seasoned that with half the spices when I was browning it. Gave it nice flavor. Ate this with ceaesar salad and garlic bread, and we were very happy!

I'm eagerly awaiting my Fagioli soup to finish cooking so I can try it out. I will be cooking my noodles separately & adding to individual bowls as I have one daughter who is not just GF but is Rice Free as well (nothing like a GF diet for a child also allergic to rice).

I made this and I thought it turned out a little blah. I used Frank's hot sauce instead of actual tabasco, added garlic and extra spices, but ended up having to add a lot of salt to it once it was dished out (and I usually don't like a lot of salt). I'm thinking that maybe using chicken Italian sausage would give it a bit more flavor than the ground beef. It was good overall and made a lot! The half-cup of pasta worked perfectly. :)

I made this vegetarian (no meat and used veggie broth. also threw in some diced turnips because they were hanging around the fridge) and it was terrific. Definitely comfort food--warm and filling. Next time I will dial back on the tomato sauce, as I found it a bit too tomato-y, and maybe add a little more pasta. Delicious!

I made this for my boyfriend and I last night and it was really good! I added a little bit more than 1/2 a cup of dry pasta (closer to one cup) and it was more than enough for us to have last night with leftovers. The Tabasco definitely adds a nice kick to the flavor of the dish. We are thinking of getting a couple of bread bowls from the grocery store and adding the soup into those for the leftovers! Yum! I definitely recommend this recipe!

I'm a huge fan of the Olive Garden version so this one I had to make. It got rave reviews from my husband. He always has a suggestion for how to improve a dish (he does most of the cooking in our house) but not on this one! Instead of ground beef, I used buffalo meat (you can't tell the difference). So yummy! Thank you!

I have already made this one twice. The first time there were no leftovers because my son had 2 friends over and they finished the pot. The second time it was the 3 of us and we had the leftovers for lunch. For once all the leftovers of something was eaten! Have Sun-dried Tomato and Feta roast in the crock pot now.

Found your site about a year ago and just saw this recipe today! How is that even possible, since OG's Pasta y Fagioli soup is my favorite soup of all time and I have been denied it for my whole year of GF-dom!?! I am SO excited -- that is definitely on the menu for this week!

I still go through you index of recipes and try ones that i didn't make back when you posted them, lol. Anyway, Wed. was a snow day for my kids, so this was the perfect meal. My substitutions: ground turkey browned with garlic, some chopped garlic thrown in the crock (i'm Italian...can't not cook with garlic, lol), can of garbanzos beans instead of kidney beans and some chopped Japanese eggplant (last of the garden bounty). also used Ditalini (small tubular pasta).

Long story short, fantastic recipe. my daughter ate 2 bowls the 1st night and it's been the perfect antidote to cold, snowy weather.

Love, love, love this! I used crushed red pepper flakes in place of the tabasco, though, as I don't like tabasco (sorry!) I also had pre-cooked pasta in the fridge, so I poured the finished soup over pasta in individual bowls. The pasta wasn't as flavorful, I'm sure, but it wasn't soggy, either. Since we ate in shifts, I think this way worked better for us.

I enjoyed this, but was the only one out of five in my family that could eat it because it was too spicy. I didn't realize the Tabasco would add as much kick as it did. So if your family doesn't do spice well, then reduce the Tabasco!!

Holy Cow! Best soup ever! I used ground turkey in place of the beef and Williams-Sonoma Vegetable Pasta Sauce. Used little Quinoa shells for the pasta. Grated some parmesan on top and VOILA! Better than Olive Garden! Thanks so much for this recipe! It's a keeper!Lisa

Made this soup recently with just a couple of minor modifications. Figured out the WW Points Plus details too. It's a keeper in my book too!! I've included it on my blog with a link back to here. Thanks for all the slow cooking inspiration.

I am planning to make this tonight for dinner, but I realized I didn't buy white beans when I went grocery shopping. Would 2 cans of kidney beans work okay? Or, could I add black beans? Or should I just break down and drive to the store and get the white beans?

Thanks for inspiring me....it is pouring rain and low 40s here so I wasn't running out, I used the recipe you posted but had make a few substitutions....one can of diced tomatoes & one can of rotel tomatoes and chilis, one can of white beans and one can of black beans (no kidney in the pantry...darn) and I had 1lb of ground beef and 3 Ital sausages so I removed casing and added those to the beef. It smells so good and will be awesome after a cold and wet HS football game tonight!

Oh, I almost forgot, since I making for when we return late from a football game....I cooked 1 C dry of a small shape pasta, rinsed with cold water and coated well with olive oil...in the refrigerator to just stir in right before serving so I don't have to wait 30 mins when getting in to serve.

Hi unknown, sure thing. Bring a cup of each kind of beans to a boil on the stovetop for 10 minutes, then remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 1 hour.Drain, then put them into the slow cooker with the other ingredients. Hope this helps, Steph

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